Volusia County Elections Supervisor Ann McFall was quick to say that the candidates "may not have done anything wrong."

LYDA LONGASTAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — State law enforcement officials are investigating in-kind contributions that Waverly Media LLC, its employees and the family and friends of those employees made to political candidates in 2012, Volusia County Elections Supervisor Ann McFall said last week. Waverly Media provides bus benches and bus bench advertising and has contracts with a handful of municipalities where its bus benches have been placed at Votran stops. Some of the people associated with Waverly Media, including a former owner, are being investigated by the FBI in an unrelated mortgage fraud case, agents have said. The state investigation into possible voter fraud is being handled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office. The probe began in July, McFall said, and focuses on in-kind contributions given to several candidates running for seats on the Volusia County Council, including Josh Wagner, who advanced through the primary then retained his council seat in the general election. Campaign contribution reports also show that a few in the group made similar donations to the campaign of Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry.

McFall was quick to say that the candidates "may not have done anything wrong."

"I do think there's an indication that Waverly Media probably did something wrong," she said. A former business partner of Wagner, Ramara Garrett, founded Waverly Media in 2008, but ceded ownership to Jim Brown of Ponce Inlet in 2011, Florida corporate records show. Brown has not responded to messages left for comment. Garrett, 34, remains the managing member of Florida Media Partners LLC, which shares an address with Waverly Media, state records show.

She also made in-kind contributions to several candidates in the August primary. The home address she listed on the campaign contribution reports is a riverfront mansion that was foreclosed on and is one of the properties the FBI is focusing on in its investigation. It is unclear where Garrett lives now. Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the FDLE, has confirmed that there is an investigation concerning voter fraud and that the query is still open. She could not provide any other details. State Attorney R.J. Larizza has declined comment.

At issue, McFall said, is whether many of the individuals who made in-kind contributions of bus bench advertising, signs and marketing, were authorized to do so. McFall said the investigation also is looking at whether some of the contributors were even aware that contributions had been made in their names.

The bulk of the in-kind contributions went to County Council candidates' campaigns including Wagner, Justin Kennedy, Jeff Allebach, Missy Kelly and James Hathaway.

Andy Kelly, one of McFall's opponents in the race for supervisor of elections, also received the in-kind contributions in question, reports show. McFall defeated Andy Kelly and several other candidates in the August primary.

To a lesser extent, some of the same contributors also gave the same in-kind services to Henry's campaign and the short-lived race of former Deltona mayor Dennis Mulder, who sought a seat in the Florida House of Representatives until he dropped out.

The amounts of the contributions were all the same across the board, county records show — $500 each, which is the maximum.

Wagner said Friday that someone with Waverly Media told him there were issues with some of the company's in-kind contributions.

After that, Wagner — whose campaign had 12 such contributions — filed an amended campaign finance report removing three donors: William and Margie Hill and Frank Rigler, each of whom were listed as contributing $500 in marketing services. The councilman said he didn't know those donors, just as he doesn't know many others on his finance report, which tallied about 480 contributions totaling $126,000.

"How, as a candidate, are we supposed to know who all these people are?" Wagner said. "You have a bench; you get donations from a lot of people. I don't know half the people on my list — how is a candidate supposed to know?"

In Wagner's case, he said he'd be more likely to notice issues with his in-kind donors if they provided services worth more than the $500 limit they reported.

"The only way you really have a red flag would be undervalue — if someone gives you an in-kind contribution that you know is worth significantly more," he said. "Other than that, I really don't think the candidate in any way knows that something could be afoul."

Andy Kelly, who had 16 in-kind contributions and Kennedy, who had 12, did not return messages left Friday.

In July when McFall was reviewing campaign contribution reports, she said she noticed several in-kind contributions for bus bench advertising in amounts of $500.

"The question is did some of the people who made the contributions have the authority to offer in-kind services for advertising on bus benches?" McFall asked. "There were some employees (of Waverly Media LLC) and the family and friends of some of those employees making contributions." The News-Journal reached three of the campaign contributors last week and all acknowledged they were aware of the investigation.

Contributor Michael Kiepert of Deltona, who gave in-kind contributions of $500 each for advertising and marketing to Wagner, Kennedy and Andy Kelly, said he was authorized to make such donations. Asked whether he works in advertising and marketing, Kiepert did not respond. Under the title "occupation" on the campaign contribution form, Kiepert listed his work as "manager" and "sales manager."

"The state is investigating this and I've been working with the State Attorney's Office," Kiepert said.

Asked why his wife Susan — who listed her occupation as "manager" — and his daughter Angela — who listed her occupation as "student/part time labor" — also contributed $500 for in-kind advertising and marketing, he declined to answer citing the state investigation.

Kiepert also declined to comment when asked whether anyone from Waverly Media asked him to make the contributions.

According to the state Division of Corporations, Kiepert is listed on two active corporations. He is a director, along with Mulder, in a for-profit company called the West Volusia Leadership Council Inc. He is also the registered agent in Florida for a California company called Lightway Industries.

Kentucky attorney Ron Rigg also contributed in-kind services of $500 each to Justin Kennedy and Andy Kelly, reports show. Rigg lives in a house on Oriole Avenue in Wilbur-by-the-Sea that property records show is owned by Mark Brown "care of" Waverly manager Jim Brown. Rigg declined comment about his contributions or the state's investigation.

Rigg did say that Frank Rigler — another contributor — had lived at the same house owned by the Browns, but had been recently evicted.

Two other contributors, William and Margie Hill — whose names appear on several campaign contribution reports — live next door to Rigg.

Contacted at his residence, William Hill said he was familiar with the contributions and the state investigation under way.

But when asked whether he actually made the contribution or someone simply used his name, William Hill's response was interrupted. A woman came up behind him and grabbed him by the back of his belt, saying sternly: "We have nothing to say. You have nothing to say Bill." She pointed a finger at him and shut the front door.

Waverly's Jim Brown made a few in-kind contributions of advertising and yard signs. Brown's wife, Kateryna — who listed her occupations as "homemaker," "housewife," and "printing" — also contributed in-kind advertising and marketing donations of $500 each to Allebach, Kennedy and Andy Kelly, reports show.

Waverly Media office manager Kim Was contributed as well, as did relatives of Was who are listed as "retired," the reports show. The candidates they gave to included Henry, Wagner, Andy Kelly, Kennedy and Hathaway.

There were also two in-kind advertising contributions made to Kennedy by two men who listed their occupations as "landscaping," the reports show.

When McFall called the State Attorney's Office in July and raised her concerns over the contributions, she said Larizza sent one of his investigators and an FDLE agent to her DeLand office. The two agencies have been investigating since then.

No one from Waverly Media has returned calls to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

The Port Orange office of Waverly Media was raided by FBI agents Jan. 31. The raid was in connection with a federal mortgage fraud investigation involving Garrett, a real estate agent, her business partner and boyfriend Jim Sotolongo and an Altamonte Springs title agent named Stephanie Musselwhite, according to the FBI.

FBI agents hauled several boxes of documents from the businesses' Dairy Court warehouse the morning of the bust. Garrett and Brown were not present. Agents on the scene said the raid is connected to a much larger mortgage fraud investigation that has been going on for the last three years.

Waverly Media has contracts with five cities and Volusia County, which have allowed Waverly Media to place benches near bus stops. According to a few of the contracts, Waverly Media is supposed to pay each municipality a portion of the gross proceeds it earns from the advertising that appears on the benches.

Last week, most of the cities contacted by The News-Journal said that their contracts with the company are still active and that Waverly Media has been paying on time. Holly Hill officials say Waverly is 30 days in arrears.